The story of Goa Gajah

Step through a doorway carved as a menacing face, and you enter the Elephant Cave. Goa Gajah, near Ubud in Gianyar, is said to have been built in the 9th century as a sanctuary, probably for meditation, although its style points to the 11th-century Bali Kingdom. One folk tale says the legendary giant Kebo Iwa scratched it out with his fingernail.

The faces carved into the stone are thought to ward off evil spirits. And the name? Some say the main figure was once taken for an elephant; others point to the statue of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, inside.

The site blends Hindu and Buddhist imagery: a lingam and yoni, symbols of Shiva, in the cave, and carved stupas by the river. Dutch archaeologists rediscovered the cave in 1923, but the bathing pool and fountains were only found in 1954. There, statues of women holding water pitchers stand for seven holy rivers of India; one of the seven was destroyed by an earthquake.